Thief

A Costa Mesa man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing paddleboards in Newport Beach, officials said Wednesday. Dan Patrick Elias, 45, was taken into custody Dec. 13 and charged with possession of stolen property. Newport Beach police said Elias was targeting locked and unsecured paddleboards from docks and residences throughout Newport over the last 10 months. If questioned by an onlooker, Elias would say he was moving the board for a friend, police said. Elias sold the boards on Craigslist and to local shops, police said.

A Los Angeles man convicted in June for his involvement in an international identity theft scheme was sentenced to 76 months in federal prison, authorities said Wednesday. The man was arrested in 2011 by Costa Mesa police at South Coast Plaza. Doren Harold Ward, 37, used credit cards primarily of elderly victims and with the help of British co-conspirators had new credit cards sent to mail drops around Southern California, according to the U.S. attorney's office. After the credit cards were obtained, Ward and others bought luxury goods from stores, including Louis Vuitton, Ben Bridge Jeweler and Geary's in Beverly Hills.

A Costa Mesa self-storage facility was broken into Wednesday night or early Thursday and a truck full of designer purses was stolen, police said. Officials are waiting for a complete inventory on the stolen box truck's contents, but Costa Mesa police Sgt. Jerry Souza estimated the loss could be more than $100,000. At about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, someone flagged down an officer to report the theft, Souza said. Officers discovered that someone cut through a fence at the Costa Mesa Mini Storage at 2950 Bear St. after 8 p.m. Wednesday Once inside, the thief managed to get past the truck's steering-wheel lock and ignored a boot on one of the wheels, Souza said.

Costa Mesa City Council candidate Sue Lester helped foil a burglary over the weekend when she watched a man allegedly try to steal a pair of bicycles, police said. Lester said she was walking her dog in the 1500 block of East Mesa Verde Drive on Saturday afternoon when she saw a man surveying an apartment complex as he aimlessly walked through. Then he stopped under a stairwell and started tugging on two bicycles chained there, she said. "I was literally watching him from across the street doing this," she said.

A Newport Beach resident accused of stealing residents' Christmas presents off their doorsteps spent Thursday night in the Orange County Sheriff's Department jail, according to booking records with the agency. Melanie Kathleen Astin, 42, was arrested by Newport Beach on Thursday after officers conducted surveillance in the neighborhood of Fullerton and El Modena avenues, according to police reports. Officers said Astin allegedly followed a United Parcel Service driver around the neighborhood, then would steal the packages after they were dropped off on different doorsteps.

SOUTH COAST PLAZA — Costa Mesa police are looking for a man who reportedly snatched a Walnut woman's purse in the Nordstrom parking lot at South Coast Plaza on Friday morning. When the would-be thief grabbed Mariel F. Punsalan's purse around 11:40 a.m. Friday, the 27-year-old woman took off after him, yelling so she could get the attention of people around her. "I just screamed and made a commotion so hopefully people would help me," she said as a member of the Costa Mesa Crime Scene Investigation team gathered evidence near Sunflower Avenue and Plaza Drive.

Deepa Bharath NEWPORT BEACH -- Police are looking for a woman suspected of pilfering unattended purses and wallets, mostly in local bars and restaurants over the last six months. The thefts have been happening on a regular basis, said Newport Beach Police Det. Darcy Andelin. "We've had at least a couple a week," he said. "It's been a continual problem." The woman, who is described as 5-foot-2 with light-colored hair, was last seen Dec. 6 on a security camera recording at Robinsons-May in Fashion Island, police said.

Deirdre Newman A total stranger made Kira Hurst's Mother's Day one to remember. Hurst had biked down to the river jetties between Newport and Huntington beaches on the bike trail with her two sons Sunday afternoon. She was on a girls' beach cruiser with a third wheel that her 5-year-old son, Ryan, was pedaling. Her 7-year-old, Kyle, was riding a bike he had gotten six months ago for his birthday. When they got down to the jetties, they parked their bikes on the sand about 30 feet from the bike trail and headed toward the shore.

Newport Beach police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who has been stealing women’s purses when they visit a local cemetery. Police said the thief, described as a Latino between 40 and 50 years old, 5-foot-10, 230 pounds with a heavy build, mustache and dark hair, has committed at least eight thefts at the Pacific View Cemetery in Newport Beach between January 2008 and November 2009. Authorities said he targets women who leave their purses inside their cars and leave their car doors unlocked.

COSTA MESA Monrovia Avenue: Two men took a racing bike worth $600 from inside a home in the 1900 block at about 7 p.m. Aug. 29. They rode away on bikes of their own while pushing along their new acquisition, according to a neighbor who witnessed the crime. Whittier Avenue: A thief pried the lock off a shed in the 1800 block some time between the evening of Aug. 28 and the morning of Aug. 29 and heisted a number of tools. The perpetrator somehow walked away with an air compressor, an electric drill, a Skil saw and other assorted items.

A Costa Mesa man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing paddleboards in Newport Beach, officials said Wednesday. Dan Patrick Elias, 45, was taken into custody Dec. 13 and charged with possession of stolen property. Newport Beach police said Elias was targeting locked and unsecured paddleboards from docks and residences throughout Newport over the last 10 months. If questioned by an onlooker, Elias would say he was moving the board for a friend, police said. Elias sold the boards on Craigslist and to local shops, police said.

An argument at a Costa Mesa gas station Monday night culminated in a would-be gas thief hitting an attendant with his car, police said. A man attempted to steal gas from an Arco station in the 2600 block of Newport Boulevard about 8:20 p.m. when an employee confronted him, Costa Mesa police Lt. Greg Scott said. As the employee tried to take down the car's license plate number, the man backed up, hitting the employee with his car, Scott said. The employee was unhurt, but police are treating the incident as an assault with a deadly weapon.

A Costa Mesa self-storage facility was broken into Wednesday night or early Thursday and a truck full of designer purses was stolen, police said. Officials are waiting for a complete inventory on the stolen box truck's contents, but Costa Mesa police Sgt. Jerry Souza estimated the loss could be more than $100,000. At about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, someone flagged down an officer to report the theft, Souza said. Officers discovered that someone cut through a fence at the Costa Mesa Mini Storage at 2950 Bear St. after 8 p.m. Wednesday Once inside, the thief managed to get past the truck's steering-wheel lock and ignored a boot on one of the wheels, Souza said.

Authorities aboard an Orange County Sheriff's Department Harbor Patrol vessel Tuesday chased a man suspected of stealing two small boats in a slow-speed, hourlong pursuit in Newport Harbor. Shortly after 8 a.m., police received a report that a dinghy was stolen from a boat, according to Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella. The man then abandoned the dinghy on Lido Island and stole an electric boat, she said. Police Sgt. T. Hughes said officers boarded the Duffy electric boat and used a Tazer to subdue the man when he would not stop or cooperate with authorities.

Preschool teacher Peggy Williams doesn't talk as if she's just had her car stolen. "It's almost gotten to the point that I feel like I don't deserve all the amazing things that are happening to me," the Costa Mesa resident said Thursday. On Tuesday, her 1999 Honda Accord, with more than 200,000 miles on the odometer, was taken out of Lighthouse Community Church's parking lot in Costa Mesa, she said. When the 25-year-old and her fellow teachers left the church's preschool, called Lil' Lighthouse Preschool, the car was gone.

A Los Angeles man convicted in June for his involvement in an international identity theft scheme was sentenced to 76 months in federal prison, authorities said Wednesday. The man was arrested in 2011 by Costa Mesa police at South Coast Plaza. Doren Harold Ward, 37, used credit cards primarily of elderly victims and with the help of British co-conspirators had new credit cards sent to mail drops around Southern California, according to the U.S. attorney's office. After the credit cards were obtained, Ward and others bought luxury goods from stores, including Louis Vuitton, Ben Bridge Jeweler and Geary's in Beverly Hills.

A man jumped into a Mercedes while its owner was helping friends unload luggage late Monday night - then drove away while witnesses watched in disbelief, a witness said. “He was walking toward us on the sidewalk, coming up from ocean, and began going into street, which I thought was just crossing street,” a witness said in a message. “And then all of the sudden he jumped into our friend's car and drove off.” The incident occurred at 11:55 p.m. Monday in the 200 block of Marguerite Avenue, according to online police logs.

Costa Mesa City Council candidate Sue Lester helped foil a burglary over the weekend when she watched a man allegedly try to steal a pair of bicycles, police said. Lester said she was walking her dog in the 1500 block of East Mesa Verde Drive on Saturday afternoon when she saw a man surveying an apartment complex as he aimlessly walked through. Then he stopped under a stairwell and started tugging on two bicycles chained there, she said. "I was literally watching him from across the street doing this," she said.

A Newport Beach resident accused of stealing residents' Christmas presents off their doorsteps spent Thursday night in the Orange County Sheriff's Department jail, according to booking records with the agency. Melanie Kathleen Astin, 42, was arrested by Newport Beach on Thursday after officers conducted surveillance in the neighborhood of Fullerton and El Modena avenues, according to police reports. Officers said Astin allegedly followed a United Parcel Service driver around the neighborhood, then would steal the packages after they were dropped off on different doorsteps.